


Three Weeks, Five Days

by theycallmethejackal



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-30 17:10:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6433078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theycallmethejackal/pseuds/theycallmethejackal





	Three Weeks, Five Days

When he thinks about it, he really shouldn't be surprised. In the nine years he's known Donna, she's been on more dates than he cares to count, and despite his attempts to thwart said dates, he knows many of them have ended with another man in Donna's bed. And aside from the gomers she's only dated once or twice –– i.e. Cliff Calley –– there's also Commander Wonderful, Blarney Boy, and the infamous Dr. Freeride, all of whom he's certain she slept with more than once. Actually, despite being twelve years his junior, she probably has more sexual experience than he has.

A sudden wave of insecurity washes over him.

She told him that he's the one who finds this all hard to navigate, and as he looks at her sleeping in his bed, the sheets covering most of her alabaster skin, he understands why they're dealing with this in such different ways. He's never been in this position. Every woman he's ever been with was a relationship or a one night stand, and the definition was obvious. But he has no clue what this one is thinking. One thing is for sure, though...

Donna Moss is _**incredible**_ in bed.

If it weren't for the diet of Red Bull and Tums he'd been living on for the last week, he would have passed out after she rolled off of him (yes, she had been on top that last round), their bodies slick with sweat, but the caffeine and stress has his mind reeling, his brain unable to shut down long enough for him to close his eyes and rest. So instead, he rolls onto his side to face her.

Running the backs of his fingers over the skin of her shoulder, Josh smiles softly. She was so confident when she showed up at his apartment yesterday -- such a different Donna than the one he spent eight years pretending he didn't want. Looking back, he sees how they danced around each other for all that time, and part of him wants to smack himself for not realizing that his feelings were reciprocated from the moment he handed her his badge. He wasted eight years pretending they were just friends when he could have spent it like this, lying in bed with Donna Moss. Dipping his head, he kisses her shoulder softly.

She didn't try to snuggle up to him after sex, so he assumes she's not big on cuddling. Funny how none of the women he's dated in the last decade have been. Mandy was about as cuddly as a porcupine, and Amy just wasn't physically affectionate. He thought Donna would be. He would have bet money on it, in fact. She's always been tactile with him in their relationship, so he just assumed that would manifest itself after sex.

Never has he wanted to hold a woman after sex as much as he does now. It feels almost as though if he doesn't, she'll slip away from him again. Even as they lie in bed together in Hawaii.

As though reading his mind, Donna rolls onto her back, her eyes fluttering open slowly as he slides his hand over her abdomen to rest on her hip over the soft sheets of their hotel bed. When her eyes open fully, she grins up at him and lifts her hand to rest on his cheek, her thumb stroking gently over his skin. "You need to shave," she teases, her voice soft.

"You weren't complaining an hour ago."

A small laugh shakes her body. "No I wasn't," she agrees, rolling onto her left side to face him, propping herself up on her elbow. Josh just keeps watching her, his head propped up on his fist. "What?" She asks through a nervous giggle.

"I don't need four weeks."

"Well good, because we've only got three weeks and five days," she snickers.

" _Donna_."

She closes her mouth and nods, prompting him to continue. "I, um... You know me," he starts. "I'm not good with women." He notices she opens her mouth to say something but shuts it quickly, and for that he's grateful. His fingertips idly stroke up and down Donna's side as he continues. "I don't really understand them... but I know you. I know you think Yo-Yo Ma rules and you cry at those sappy movies I hate but will watch with you because it means I get to be with you for a while longer. I know you keep _The Art and Artistry of Alpine Skiing_ in your bedside table. I know your blood type is O Negative and you started donating a couple times a year after Rosslyn. I know now that you love me almost as much as I've loved you for the last eight years."

Josh takes a deep breath. Her expression hasn't changed in the last minute, and he has no idea what she's thinking, so he keeps going: "I don't need... three weeks and five days?" He asks, shaking his head. "I don't need even another minute to think about this because I've been thinking about it for years. This isn't a fling. This isn't just sex. I love you, Donnatella."

He watches her. She still hasn't moved to say anything, and her expression still isn't changing. She's just staring at him with that cute little grin, and she's not saying anything back. "But if you need more time to figure things out -- "

Finally she closes the short distance between them and kisses him tenderly, her fingers running through his hair in an almost reverent fashion. His hand slides off her hip to the small of her back, pulling her flush to him. After a long moment, she pulls away, smiling brightly at him. "I never needed to think about it, Josh," she breathes, lying down and snuggling into her pillow, her hand slipping out of his hair to rest on his chest. She takes a deep breath and sighs. "I love you, too."

In that moment, it feels like a fifty-pound weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Lying down on his back, he tugs her closer so her head rests on the crook of his shoulder. Instinctively her arm drapes over him, her hand resting on his chest. "You were right. I should have brought you to Hawaii years ago," he quips, kissing the top of her head before slipping into sleep.


End file.
